The Story of Hua Yan

This chapter opens with a soliloquy by the patriarch of the Hua family. He asks the young master of the temple if he is in love with him. The young master replies that he is not in love at the moment. He tells the patriarch that he must go to the golden temple to find the missing bug of the poison book. The patriarch tells him that word has come from the east palace that the crown princess and her husband have already left the capital of the south. The king is confused as to whether the princess is in his capital or in hers. He says that the bug of poison is very important to the stability of royal families in the southland. He is glad that the king has decided to go.